Welcome to the world of Jenniffer Wardell, author of “Beast Charming," "Fairy Godmothers, Inc," "Fighting Sleep" and more. It's a place where fantasy runs smack into reality (after which they both exchange business cards and hope no one calls the insurance company). Perfect for fans of Terry Pratchett and Mercedes Lackey's "500 Kingdoms" series.

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Friday, October 19, 2012

A Handbook for Supervillains: The Female Villain

So You
Want to Rule the World

The
Female Villain Persona, or Yes, Even Evil is Sexist

The unpleasant truth of the matter is that the
majority of the world’s most well-respected supervillains are male. If you’re a
woman and have an overwhelming pull towards villainry, you’re usually expected
to be the girlfriend of some more powerful villain or sleep with the hero
before betraying him. Sure, you get great outfits, but that’s not going to win
you the kind of respect that say, subjugating a small country would.

Even the best villains fall into this trap. Talia
may have been the mastermind in the latest “Dark Knight” movie, but who do we
all remember? Yes, Bane. He got to make the dramatic proclamations, while she missed
several opportunities for solid evil name recognition by pretending to be a
good guy. This, my friend, will not get people quaking in their boots at the
mention of your name. After all, branding is just important in villainry as it
is in selling shoes.

(Just a note to keep you from offending
someone you shouldn't and having them convince you to apologize with a ray gun
-- "villain" is still the politically correct job title for women who
choose this profession. In fact, the only term still under evaluation from
several joint committees on political correctness is "bad guy."

"Bad girl"
was briefly considered as a replacement, but several women's rights activists
in the supervillain community attending the meetings felt that the term was
derisive to women and still segregated them from their peers. Since they had conveniently
armed themselves before arriving, the rest of the group tended to agree with
their viewpoint quickly. "Bad person" is a current favorite, though a
small but vocal writer's coalition is complaining that it just doesn’t sound as
catchy.)

So, my sisters in dastardly deeds, don’t let yourself fall into the “girlfriend”
trap. Believe me, there will be ways to trick the hero without sleeping with
him, and the other villains will respect you for it far more. If nothing else,
get one of your female flunkies to sleep with him while you get to do all the
dramatic grandstanding and evil rants that are some of the most solid benefits
our profession has to offer. Then, when the hero thinks he’s lured your flunkie
over to the good side, have her bring him to you so you can stab him. Or stab
them both, and prove you’re above this whole seduction nonsense. Just because
you’re a woman doesn’t mean you shouldn’t have fun with it.